It started as a Twitter rumor, as these things tend to do. Yesterday afternoon, word spread that Robinson Cano had failed a drug test, and his PED suspension would be announced soon. Because similar rumors have recently turned out to be correct, and because Cano is a superstar and a Yankee and playoff bound, this one got traction.

Usually, these things stay confined to the internet. But this story made the jump to mainstream, appearing in the New York papers and national outlets today. Why? Because the source wasn't some anonymous message board poster, or untraceable crowdsourced Twitter whispers, but an actual reporter.

Dan Tordjman of WSOC in Charlotte is not a sports reporter, but he is a Mets fan and describes himself on his Twitter account as a "keen observer of NY sports." And yesterday, he went on a tweet spree that was somehow as assured as it was equivocal:

It'd be reductive (and wrong) to say that if you can't confirm something, you shouldn't report it. But either Tordjman doesn't know how ubiquitous and useless most internet rumors are, or he doesn't care and really, really wanted to be first on the off-chance it turned out to be true. Well, reporters are a jealous set when it comes to breaking news, and if they'll grudgingly give credit when scooped, they'll eagerly call you out and tear you down when you're wrong.

Of course it could turn out that Cano does get suspended, á la CSN Bay Area's Andrew Baggarly on Melky Cabrera. Which wouldn't make Tordjman any more than a blind squirrel who found a nut, but the mea culpas from those who leapt to Cano's defense should be fun.